A New Year’s Nightmare

By+Yuan+Yuan

‘I feel terribly guilty that I couldnt protect you. Watching you die in my arms is a nightmare that will haunt me for the rest of my life，” wrote Zheng Hong （pseudonym） on social networking website Renren.com， after his girlfriend died in a fatal stampede in Shanghai.

Zhengs girlfriend， Du yijun， was a 20-year-old student at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai. During New years Eve， they went together to the Bund， located along the riverbank on the west side of the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The area makes for a popular destination for New year celebrations， with its historic architecture and skyscrapers along the river displaying dazzling light shows at night.

The Bund was as bustling as it was during previous New years Eve festivities. But nobody could have predicted that a deadly tragedy would occur just before the ringing in of the new year.

Eyewitness accounts

According to the Huangpu branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau， the Bund area became increasingly crowded after 8 p.m. on December 31， 2014.

At around 11：30 p.m.， the flow of tourists surged irregularly and around 500 police officers were mobilized after a surveillance camera showed that a passageway near Chen yi Square was congested with people.

Many people became trapped near the steps at Chen yi Square that adjoin the platform and a major road， as many more swarmed up in search for a better view.

“The steps leading to the platform were full of people. Some wanted to get down and some wanted to go up，” said a witness surnamed yin， who was at the scene with her son. “We were caught in the middle and saw some girls scream as they fell. Then others started to fall down， row by row.”

“The crowd was in a panic. We stood in the crowd， feeling squeezed and almost out of breath，” said another witness surnamed yu.“Some yelled for help， but it was too noisy.”

The chaos escalated and some people were forced to the ground and were trampled by crowds. “The chaos lasted several minutes， and then some of the injured were carried out of the crowd，” yu said.

Zheng and his girlfriend Du were among those trapped. “I tried to use my elbow to protect her， but the strength of the crowds was so strong that I couldnt do anything.”

The commotion grew as more people were squeezed to the ground and trampled.

The police struggled to pull out trapped people from the crowd at the beginning.

“Layers of people fell to the ground and couldnt stand back up，” said Wei yong， who was at the staircase with his wife and three other friends.

“We were trying to go up to the platform but at the fifth or sixth step， people were suddenly pushed down to the ground and my wife and three other friends all of a sudden disappeared in the falling crowd，” said Wei， who struggled to stay upright.“Many people couldnt even put their feet on the ground and could do nothing but sway with the crowd.”

In one video clip of the incident posted online， several young people standing on the platform near Chen yi Square shouted at the tightly packed crowd to step back.

“I was on the platform with three friends，” said a young man who was one of those shouting to the crowd. “We saw people falling on the lowest step of the staircase and the number of people on the platform was far bigger than what it could hold. People held hands to form a pathway through the crowd so the injured could be evacuated.”

It took about 10 minutes for the fallen people to move， with some able to stand up with the help of police and other people.

Wei found his wife but one of their friends， Gu yinli， was motionless and later died in the hospital. “We had no idea how it happened，” said Wei.

In the hospital， Wei met the friends and relatives of the other victims. The youngest victim was a 12-year-old boy who was separated from his mother in the crowd.

“It is horrific and hellish，” said Wei.

As of January 8， there were 36 people who died in the stampede. Most were in their 20s， with the majority being women.

President Xi Jinping on January 1 demanded an immediate investigation into the cause of the stampede and urged prevention of such incidents in the future.

Premier Li Keqiang underscored the importance of safety in public places， particularly during holidays.

Li told local authorities to “make every effort” to reduce injury-related deaths and console relatives， adding that strict precautions should be taken against major incidents， and public safety and social stability should be ensured.

The municipal government of Shanghai set up a working team for rescue operations and to deal with the aftermath. “The lesson was extremely profound and painful，” said Shanghai Mayor yang Xiong on January 6 at a session of the standing committee of the citys legislature， the Shanghai Municipal Peoples Congress. “The consequences of the accident are very grave.”

Some survivors said the stampede was triggered when some people started to throw coupons resembling U.S. banknotes to revelers outside a bar on the windy night.

Events unfold

Witness Wu Tao said some coupons were being thrown from a buildings third-floor window near the Bund， which some people standing along the river bank started scrambling to grab.

The coupons had“M18” printed in the center， believed to refer to a bar bearing the same name on the Bund.

The official microblog of the Shanghai police said on January 1 that the coupons were dropped at about 11：47 p.m.， after the stampede happened， according to surveillance video.

This was not the first stampede that happened in China. In 2004， a stampede on a local bridge in suburban Beijing killed 37 during a lantern festival. In January 2014， a mosque stampede killed 14 people and injured another 10 in northwest Chinas Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. In September 2014， six students were killed in a stampede at a primary school in yunnan Province after a stairway was blocked.

“When an influx of tourists exceeds the limit—one person per square meter indoors and four people for every three square meters outdoors—the authorities should temporarily shut down the area and evacuate the people，”said Liu Shilin， head of the academy of urban science with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.“Information technology can be used to detect the population density and make timely warnings through social media platforms， such as microblogging.”

“For mega-cities like Shanghai， the government should set up a permanent safety management department to coordinate operations of all safety-concerned departments and ensure safety measures are put in place，”said Teng Wuxiao， Director of the Public Safety Research Center with Fudan University.

“The Bunds viewing platform is long and narrow and the structure of the Chen yi Square staircase makes it hard for crowds to flow. The disorder at the scene also exposed the deficiency in emergency exercise and safety education.”

Wu Xiaoxiao， a nurse from Wenzhou Childrens Hospital in the neighboring Zhejiang Province， was at the scene when the tragedy happened. “We intended to climb up to the platform but gave up right before the stampede occurred，” said Wu.

The police then cleared a space at the square to lay down the injured. Wu， after identifying herself as a nurse， was allowed in to offer emergency help.

“There were few people that had the professional knowledge of emergency medical care，” said Wu. “Most of the relatives and friends could do nothing but desperately shout for help.”

“For high-risk areas， the authorities should have special emergency response plans and perform sufficient analysis and assessment， including the arrangement of police， volunteers and supporting measures，”said Teng.